Heroes Assemble!

Unexpected Gifts

Gringotts, in Harry's opinion, was a necessary evil. But then, they did hold the monopoly on the finances of the magical world. Oh, there were the gnomes of Zuich, but they weren't as wide-spread throughout the world like Gringotts was and thus, when Harry'd decided to leave Britain and to travel the world, it was an easy decision to leave his gold with the goblins.

Well, easy in that he didn't have much choice. Gringotts branches could be found all around the globe. And in every single one of them, Harry's reputation followed him; a reputation that carried a double-edged sword.

Because of the Potter and Black accounts, his vault balance (all combined, of course) ensured that he was afforded deferential treatment, treatment that very few wizards were given. On the other hand, because of the fact that he'd broken into London Gringotts, half-destroyed the branch and 'stolen' one of their dragons, he was all but considered 'persona non-grata'. Yes, he'd paid restitution and the Ministry of Magic had paid even more on his behalf, thus cancelling out the debt, but that didn't erase the damage to Gringotts' reputation that he'd caused.

Thus, while he'd been made to wait on an extremely uncomfortable rock bench for his appointment, the wait wasn't as long as it could have been.

"Lord Potter," a younger goblin grunted at him, "come this way."

Harry quickly rose from his chair and nodded fractionally deeper than he probably needed to. His attempt at showing respect was ignored, however, as the goblin simply turned, opened a nearby door and strode through it.

For a species that was so much shorter than humans, they moved deceptively fast and it was all that Harry could do to keep up with his guide. It didn't help that the corridor that they'd entered was slightly lower than was comfortable for a human and thus he was forced to walk with his head slightly bowed.

At one particular door that obviously was the correct one, not that Harry could tell, seeing no signs or markings anywhere in the corridor or on the doors, his guide stopped. A single sharp claw was scraped down the door before a grunt was heard from inside.

A simple wave of the goblin's hand indicated that Harry should proceed. After a single nod, Harry pushed open the heavy rock door and entered.

"Account Manager Schist," he said, bowing low just inside the doorway and being extremely careful – just as he was every single time that he had to come here – to keep any emotion or inflection out of his voice.

"Lord Potter. What do you want?" Schist asked in his deep gravelly voice.

Harry stood straight and, keeping his eyes fixed firmly ahead and away from the various axes and swords on the walls to either side of him, approached the long, wide, irregularly-shaped rock desk. Carefully, knowing how uncomfortable it was going to be from past experience, Harry lowered himself into one of the chairs on his side of the desk.

"I am interested in having some work done on one of my properties," Harry stated.

"What sort of work?" Schist asked.

"Primarily some buildings constructed," Harry began before he was cut off mid-sentence.

"Then you've wasted my time and yours as well; Gringotts does not create buildings above ground," Schist snapped.

"I am aware of that," Harry replied patiently. "However, Gringotts are masters of warding. And the property that I would like improvements made to it also need its wards altered and upgraded. At present, the property – Paradis Noir – is under unplottable wards, muggle-repelling wards, a fidelius and a host of other wards that were placed there hundreds of years ago by the then Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black."